[Marauder]

I think Ford has crossed all limits of patience the car buying public has by delaying the launch to this extent.I mean there should have been some sort of official word from Ford regarding the launch,bookings etc.Unfortunately nothing and due to this we all have to rely on some speculations that pop up here and there.Meanwhile,their dealers take the prospective buyers for a ride by opening up unofficial bookings by making false claims.
I don't know why Ford is doing this,have they done some marketing research which shows that the more you make the customer wait the more your product sells.
Ford has turned me into a sadist,now I hope they goof-up on the pricing or something else and the product flops and they go into doldrums.

[blurust]

Originally Posted by Marauder

I think Ford has crossed all limits of patience the car buying public has by delaying the launch to this extent.I mean there should have been some sort of official word from Ford regarding the launch,bookings etc.Unfortunately nothing and due to this we all have to rely on some speculations that pop up here and there.Meanwhile,their dealers take the prospective buyers for a ride by opening up unofficial bookings by making false claims.
I don't know why Ford is doing this,have they done some marketing research which shows that the more you make the customer wait the more your product sells.
Ford has turned me into a sadist,now I hope they goof-up on the pricing or something else and the product flops and they go into doldrums.

I have no idea why ford is taking so much time to launch ecosport. I have asked my dealer here and he says 25th june is the official date. so much delay, wrong pricing = a market dud. so much delay + Excellent pricing = sales chart on fire.

the ball is in FORD's court now. We just gotta wait n watch.

[ksaurabh21]

A think a weakening rupee might have made it difficult for FORD to calculate the right price point for ecosport. That may be a reason for delay in launch.

[Papa Blaze]

That was one heck of a review Vid6639

The delay in launch is a certain strategy, being well played by Ford and their dealers. Expect Trailblazer bookings and sales once the final date is out.!!

Can the kill ford kill certain hatchbacks like Polo and Punto also (apart from duster)?

[GrammarNazi]

Originally Posted by ksaurabh21

A think a weakening rupee might have made it difficult for FORD to calculate the right price point for ecosport. That may be a reason for delay in launch.

Shouldn't that be the case only if they're gonna price it aggressively? Anyway, FIAT didn't take any chances & launched the T-Jet with excellent pricing.

I don't see why Ford too is weighing its options SO carefully, afterall, Figo is pretty much all they have. If the EcoSport is priced aggressively, Ford would be sure of gaining market share. Maybe down the lane, as the product gains momentum they can push the prices, but as of now, to make the EcoSport an absolute success, they MUST price it aggressively.

[Nilesh5417]

Originally Posted by ksaurabh21

A think a weakening rupee might have made it difficult for FORD to calculate the right price point for ecosport. That may be a reason for delay in launch.

How significant can that impact be? I doubt its really that much to postpone the launch significantly. A few points we might need to consider:
1. Ecoboost is the only engine being imported. The volumes (not matter how much ford wants to push this engine) will be limited.
2. The Fiesta engine options are already manufactured locally at Chennai.
3. The car at launch is expected to come with 65-70% localisation.
4. I'm sure Ford has anticipated significant volumes and its already churning out cars to reasonable wait times only. In that sense, they probably have already imported the what ever they needed to for at least the few few thousand?
5. Don't you have some sort of currency hedging you can do?

Just throwing it out for discussion since your point seems valid but should not have any immediate impact to Ford so late in the game.

I don't think Ford is worried about losing customers if it delays the launch by a week or two. But i suspect the reasons have to be much more credible and we don't seem to be having a clue.
-----------------

Ford opens bookings in June and deliveries would begin before the end of that month. A reason why Ford didn’t announce bookings in advance is because they’d like customers to drive away vehicles soon after they book, without added delays. Ford officials say they are more prepared to respond to market demands today with the EcoSport than they were when they launched the Figo three years ago.

--> From indianautosblog.com

I suspect Ford isn't prepared as they would like to be with the kind of demand they are expecting (esp if they are going to price it aggressively). Maybe they are building up sufficient inventories to ensure there is no unreasonable waiting period.

P.S. : Imagine my frustration with the wait now that the cheque i gave the dealer just got encashed!

[himanshugoswami]

the reason for delay is some vendor QC issues. that is delaying commencement of production.

revised launch date is 25th June

[shivasuma]

Originally Posted by himanshugoswami

the reason for delay is some vendor QC issues. that is delaying commencement of production.

revised launch date is 25th June

I would rather have a 2 week delay and a niggle-free, quality offering than a hurried launch and a low quality offering.

[sunilg33]

Originally Posted by Nilesh5417

How significant can that impact be? I doubt its really that much to postpone the launch significantly. A few points we might need to consider:
1. Ecoboost is the only engine being imported. The volumes (not matter how much ford wants to push this engine) will be limited.
2. The Fiesta engine options are already manufactured locally at Chennai.
3. The car at launch is expected to come with 65-70% localisation.
4. I'm sure Ford has anticipated significant volumes and its already churning out cars to reasonable wait times only. In that sense, they probably have already imported the what ever they needed to for at least the few few thousand?
5. Don't you have some sort of currency hedging you can do?

Rupee depreciation is quite significant. In the past month the depreciation is approximately by 5-6%. Even-though this might not be the main reason for the delay, such high depreciation can play havoc with the profit margin calculations.

[sharninder]

Originally Posted by Nilesh5417

P.S. : Imagine my frustration with the wait now that the cheque i gave the dealer just got encashed!

Encashed already? Harpreet ford here in Gurgaon told me they're takin PDCs right now for unofficial bookings. I've never booked a car in advance so don't know what's the process usually.

[ksaurabh21]

Originally Posted by Nilesh5417

How significant can that impact be? ...

The impact could be few thousand rupees and whether Ford can absorb or pass that impact to customers depends on what was the original launch price they planned before rupee started the downward slide.
Ford may not be able to increase the price immediately after launch. So why not do the maths right and launch it at a price point which can be termed aggressive but should still give Ford some contribution margin.
Again, all this is speculation. While we are cribbing about the delay (which is perfectly fine from customers' viewpoint), as per Ford's schedule, it may be ontime.

[Nilesh5417]

Originally Posted by sharninder

Encashed already? Harpreet ford here in Gurgaon told me they're takin PDCs right now for unofficial bookings. I've never booked a car in advance so don't know what's the process usually.

I've never booked it this way either. Guess the dealer is making some money as interest on at my expense. All i care is that i get moved up the list over those who haven't booked (officially or not) yet. Hope at least that works out.
Thanks for sharing the update, i'll use that as bargaining chip with my dealer.

[sudhirbhan]

Got a call from the Mangalore dealer now. They are "unofficially" accepting bookings. Booking amount is 50K and cancellation penalty is 3K. Demo vehicle expected on 20th June in the showroom.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by Nilesh5417

I've never booked it this way either. Guess the dealer is making some money as interest on at my expense. All i care is that i get moved up the list over those who haven't booked (officially or not) yet. Hope at least that works out.
Thanks for sharing the update, i'll use that as bargaining chip with my dealer.

If the dealer is taking PDCs, he won't make any interest gains. PDCs will be encashed only on or after their written date
(Its Post Dated Cheques...)

But if they are then going to take a penalty cut for cancellations after actual launch - thats looting! Then the deserve some things that I don't really want to post on a forum as pure and good as TBHP...

[gomzi]

Originally Posted by Nilesh5417

-----------------
--> From indianautosblog.com

Maybe they are building up sufficient inventories to ensure there is no unreasonable waiting period.

I think this could be the reason for the delay. Having seen the response just after launch of the Amaze, Duster and XUV500, if I were working for Ford, i'd ensure there are enough cars in inventory to take care of 2-4 weeks of the initial demand.

As soon as cars are launched, the waiting period also gets published and well known. If the waiting period is less, that much more positive publicity.

Originally Posted by Reinhard

But if they are then going to take a penalty cut for cancellations after actual launch - thats looting! Then the deserve some things that I don't really want to post on a forum as pure and good as TBHP...

If they take a penalty cut for cancellations, the amount of penalty should have been informed to you BEFORE you made the booking.

Anyway, I hope this doesn't happen, but if it does, it MUST be posted it here to make other bhpi'ans aware.